This map shows the routes of Europe's refugee nightmare — and how it's getting worse

More than 150,000 refugees entered the European Union in August, increasing the total to more than half a million for the year, the European Union border agency announced.

Though the number of refugees entering Europe had steadily increased over the past 10 months, European leaders were slow to respond, leading to what the EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos called the worst refugee crisis facing Europe since World War II.

Where the refugees are coming from — and where they're going

The distribution of refugees among the members of the 28-member EU has been far from equal. Most refugees are trying to reach rich countries with generous immigration policies like Sweden and Germany, and many Eastern European countries are refusing to take in any refugees.

Most try to reach the Schengen area, 26 countries that have abolished border control and allowed free movement of people and goods.

Once there, they move through Macedonia and Serbia into Hungary, from where many continue their journeys to richer countries. Some also reach Hungary by way of Bulgaria and Romania from Turkey.

The UNHRC also reports that during that time, Germany was by far the country that received the most asylum applications, with 188,486. Hungary came second in place with 65,415 applications, and Sweden took third with 33,234 applications.

Italy was fourth with 30,223, and France was fifth with 29,832 demands.

Many refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war and ISIS have been entering the European Union through Greece — 258,365 refugees entered Greece by boat so far this year — after going through Turkey.

See images of the refugees making their way through Europe:

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General migrant crisis - Syrian refugees, entering all European countries

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This map shows the routes of Europe's refugee nightmare — and how it's getting worse

Migrant and refugee children lie on the ground during a demonstration to protest against Turkish police blocking the access to the road and the ticket office for the Turkey-Greece border towns on September 15, 2015 at Istanbul's Esenler Bus Terminal. Over half a million migrants have crossed the European Union's border so far this year, up from 280,000 in 2014, the bloc's Frontex border agency said on September 15, 2015 -- but warned some people may have been counted twice. AFP PHOTO / YASIN AKGUL (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)

ROSZKE, HUNGARY - SEPTEMBER 13: A young boy wraps up to keep warm as migrants wake up to a cold morning at the Hungarian border with Serbia on September 13, 2015 in Roszke, Hungary. A record number of 4,000 people crossed the Hungarian border with Serbia yesterday. Migrants are rushing to the border due to fears that the borders will soon close before the official closure of midnight on Monday, September 14th. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called 'Balkans route' has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary. The number of people leaving their homes in war torn countries such as Syria, marks the largest migration of people since World War II. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

SANLIURFA, TURKEY - OCTOBER 28: (TURKEY OUT) Kurdish refugee children from the Syrian town of Kobani look on near makeshift tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province October 28, 2014. Kurdish fighters, supported by US-led air strikes, have fended off the Islamic State militants offensive into the besieged Syrian border town of Kobani for the last 44 days but remain ill equipped and short on ammunition. (Photo by Kutluhan Cucel/Getty Images)

ALEPPO, SYRIA - JULY 02: Mother of Syrian child refugee 8-year-old Ahmet Kedru, with partial thickness burns on the face, Aisha Kedru weeps as her son demands support for an aesthetic surgery from Turkish doctors to return to the old days on July 02, 2015 in Aleppo's district Azaz. When Ahmet and his family members were inside of a tent that they take shelter in at Azaz district, the tent is burned out. Fire damaged both him and his mother. (Photo by Kerem Kocalar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Syrian refugees wait for transportation after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, near Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, on June 10, 2015. Thousands of people crossed from Syria into Turkey on June 10 to flee a battle pitting Islamist insurgents against Kurdish and opposition forces for the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

SANLIURFA, TURKEY - JUNE 06: A Turkish soldier carries a Syrian girl as she crosses into Turkey with her family from the borderline in Akcakale district of Sanliurfa on June 06, 2015. Hundreds of Syrians who fled from Syria after clashes between Syrian government forces and opponents in Rasulayn region of Al-Hasakah, have crossed into Turkey since Wednesday. (Photo by Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A Syrian refugee woman sits as a child sleeps near her early in the morning on Taksim Square, Istanbul, on May 26, 2015. Britain's David Cameron and Russia's Vladimir Putin have agreed to re-start talks on finding a solution to the crisis in Syria, a statement from Cameron said on May 25. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

A Syrian Kurdish boy peers as children take lessons on November 10, 2014 in a makeshift school tent in a refugee camp in the town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province. Turkey's maintained an 'open door' policy for all those fleeing Syria's civil war and there are now over 1.5 million Syrian refugees living in the country. More than 280,000 Syrian refugees are living in refugee camps, mostly in the southeast, according Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINI (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Kurdish people watch the Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, from the Turkish border in the southeastern village of Mursitpinar, Sanliurfa province, on October 18, 2014. Turkey is turning a deaf ear to insistent pressure to take a more pro-active stance in the fight against Islamic State (IS) jihadists, adding to existing strains with the West under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Western diplomats have repeatedly made clear they want to see the key NATO member play a key role in the coalition against the militants, who are battling for the Syrian town Kobane just a few kilometers from Turkey. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

A child cries as Syrian Kurdish people arrive after crossing the border between Syria and Turkey after several mortars hit both side in the southeastern town of Suruc, in the Sanliurfa province on September 29, 2014. Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds flooded into Turkey fleeing an onslaught by the Islamic State (IS) group that prompted an appeal for international intervention. Some of the refugee now want to return to protect their homes and join the fight against IS militants. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

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Other Syrians try to reach Italy from Greece or attempt to head to Austria by going through Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia. An increasingly popular route to enter the Schengen zone is through Norway, by way of Russia and Lebanon.

The refugees entering from African countries are reaching the EU mostly through Italy (121,500 arrivals by sea in 2015) and Spain (1,953 arrivals by sea). Once they arrive in Italy, many apply for asylum there, but some try to cross into France. From there, many attempt the perilous crossing of the Eurotunnel into the United Kingdom.

Growing numbers and tensions

At his annual state of the union address last week, EU president Jean-Claude Juncker announced a plan to resettle 160,000 refugees throughout the members of the EU.

The plan includes a quota of refugees per country, a measure that has been met with criticism but that was still approved by the European Parliament. Countries in Eastern Europe have vehemently opposed the mandatory relocation of refugees, leading Juncker to suggest that those nations might see their EU funding cut if they continue to refuse to take refugees in.

Germany's vice chancellor said that while the relocation proposal was a first step, it was also "a drop in the ocean that won't solve everything," according to the Associated Press.

On Monday, Hungary completed the construction of the fence along its southern border with Serbia, and on Tuesday new laws came into force, allowing Hungary to reject asylum requests from anyone who did not apply for asylum in Serbia. The government also declared a state of emergency in its two southern counties over the refugee crisis, paving the way to deploy the army at the border.

The country has been heavily criticized in recent weeks for its treatment of refugees, and the spotlight was shone on the country in early September, when a video of a camerawoman kicking a refugee went viral.

New border controls

On the other side of the spectrum is Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated that there was no "legal limit" to the number of refugees it would take in — but stressed that the people entering Germany who did not have the right to claim asylum would need to go back to their countries.

See migrants arriving in Germany:

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Migrants arriving in Germany

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This map shows the routes of Europe's refugee nightmare — and how it's getting worse

SCHOENEFELD, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 13: A policeman touches the window playing with a child while migrants take a bus after arriving on an ICE high-speed train of Deutsche Bahn from Munich near Berlin on September 13, 2015 in Schoenefeld, Germany. In an effort to deal with a weekend influx of over 13,000 migrants in Munich Deutsche Bahn for the first time reserved an ICE train solely for the migrants and asked regular passenger to switch to other trains. Germany is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived in the last few weeks, most of them via the so-called Balkan route through Serbia, Hungary and Austria. Migrants arriving at Schoenefeld are transferred with buses to shelters in Berlin. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Refugees are seen after arriving at the main railway station in Dortmund, western Germany, on September 13, 2015. Germany may take in one million refugees this year, up from the record 800,000 arrivals predicted so far, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on September 14, 2015. AFP PHOTO / DPA / MAJA HITIJ +++ GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read MAJA HITIJ/AFP/Getty Images)

Refugee children wave as they sit in a special train heading to western German town of Dortmund at the main train station in Munich, southern Germany, on September 13, 2015. Thousands of refugees arrived in Germany during the weekend, coming from Hungary and Austria. AFP PHOTO / DPA / SVEN HOPPE +++ GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read SVEN HOPPE/AFP/Getty Images)

Refugees walk down the stairs after arriving at the main railway station in Dortmund, western Germany, on September 13, 2015. Germany may take in one million refugees this year, up from the record 800,000 arrivals predicted so far, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on September 14, 2015. AFP PHOTO / DPA / MAJA HITIJ +++ GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read MAJA HITIJ/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants wait for a special train for Berlin in the hall of the main train station in Munich, southern Germany, on September 13, 2015. Thousands of refugees arrived in Germany during the weekend, coming from Hungary and Austria. AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

MUNICH, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 13: Refugees walk to a train bound for Dortmund at the main railway station on September 13, 2015 in Munich, Germany. Hundreds of refugees, mainly from Syria and Iraq, arrive in Germany after Hungary has opened his borders for them to travel for Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

SCHOENEFELD, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 13: Migrants leave the trainstation after arriving on an ICE high-speed train of Deutsche Bahn from Munich near Berlin on September 13, 2015 in Schoenefeld, Germany. In an effort to deal with a weekend influx of over 13,000 migrants in Munich Deutsche Bahn for the first time reserved an ICE train solely for the migrants and asked regular passenger to switch to other trains. Germany is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived in the last few weeks, most of them via the so-called Balkan route through Serbia, Hungary and Austria. Migrants arriving at Schoenefeld are transferred with buses to shelters in Berlin. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

SCHOENEFELD, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 13: Migrants takes a bus after arriving on an ICE high-speed train of Deutsche Bahn from Munich near Berlin on September 13, 2015 in Schoenefeld, Germany. In an effort to deal with a weekend influx of over 13,000 migrants in Munich Deutsche Bahn for the first time reserved an ICE train solely for the migrants and asked regular passenger to switch to other trains. Germany is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived in the last few weeks, most of them via the so-called Balkan route through Serbia, Hungary and Austria. Migrants arriving at Schoenefeld are transferred with buses to shelters in Berlin. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

SCHOENEFELD, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 13: Migrants takes a bus after arriving on an ICE high-speed train of Deutsche Bahn from Munich near Berlin on September 13, 2015 in Schoenefeld, Germany. In an effort to deal with a weekend influx of over 13,000 migrants in Munich Deutsche Bahn for the first time reserved an ICE train solely for the migrants and asked regular passenger to switch to other trains. Germany is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived in the last few weeks, most of them via the so-called Balkan route through Serbia, Hungary and Austria. Migrants arriving at Schoenefeld are transferred with buses to shelters in Berlin. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

SCHOENEFELD, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 13: A girl waves holding balloons through the window as migrants take a bus after arriving on an ICE high-speed train of Deutsche Bahn from Munich near Berlin on September 13, 2015 in Schoenefeld, Germany. In an effort to deal with a weekend influx of over 13,000 migrants in Munich Deutsche Bahn for the first time reserved an ICE train solely for the migrants and asked regular passenger to switch to other trains. Germany is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived in the last few weeks, most of them via the so-called Balkan route through Serbia, Hungary and Austria. Migrants arriving at Schoenefeld are transferred with buses to shelters in Berlin. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

MUNICH, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 13: Migrants arrive by train at Munich Hauptbahnhof railway station on September 13, 2015 in Munich, Germany. German authorities are expecting 10,000 migrants to arrive on trains today, mostly from Hungary via Austria, on top of the approximately 20,000 that have arrived in the last 48 hours. Germany is distributing the migrants across the country and is struggling to register and house them. Many of the migrants are coming from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq and are reaching western Europe via the Balkans. (Photo by Philipp Guelland/Getty Images)

The refugee crisis is becoming so dire that people are starting to speculate that it will cause Britain to leave the EU for good. Others say the crisis will lead to the end of the EU.

Nevertheless, the European leaders do not seem willing to take mind of the scope of the crisis. The United Nations warned last week that if the war in Syria continued, millions of refugees were expected to enter Europe in the coming years.